The report identified several barriers to productive, inclusive meetings, including hierarchical culture, generational differences regarding perceptions of productivity, resistance to change, and lack of inclusive leadership. For example, younger women report the lowest meeting productivity, with 40% of meetings experienced as unproductive by Gen Z women, compared to just 27% for men.
"I think men tend to be more confident than women, especially if you're early on in your career. If you're just starting out, you're probably less likely to be as confident," says Shoshanna. "But then equally, a lot of the time when young people are invited to a meeting, they don't necessarily have the context.
They don't know what the meeting's about. They don't know what their role in the meeting is. So, I think that's potentially a reason in terms of productivity. If you're coming to a meeting where you don't know what on earth is going on, you're then going to judge that meeting as less productive.
"I also think there are quite a lot of corporate practices which, to me, just seem a little bit outdated. A little bit unnecessarily corporate for the sake of things. I've been in plenty of meetings where other people have come away and they've found the meeting very productive. But to me, I've just been falling asleep, and I've just found it a bit silly. So, I think in general, different generations have different definitions of productivity," she says.
Inclusive and productive meetings are underpinned by mutual support, psychological safety for giving feedback, and vulnerability shown at the leadership level. Alex recommends planning meetings more intentionally by providing agendas and ensuring everyone has an opportunity to speak.
"Give everyone in the group an opportunity to speak and provide options for you, and that then gives them a good feeling that they've contributed within the team or the organisation. It means they'll want to contribute even more, and you'll also feel safer in that sense — if any biases happen within team meetings, it mitigates against some of those. So, it can be a really powerful thing," he says.
"I also think it's important for senior leaders to show a little bit of vulnerability, and I know that leaders don't like to do that, but when you show vulnerability, people realise, ‘Hey, you are human like me, and so you may have doubts, but guess what? You've done so fantastically well to get to where you are. I'm going to have that belief in myself, and I'm going to speak up and contribute as much as I can.’"
Alex also recommends employee network groups as a gateway to starting meaningful conversations about generational diversity within the organisation, at all levels, and not just with senior leadership.
"I just think that sometimes we need to put our money where our mouths are and really push forward and try to open up opportunities and see how things go. We can always tweak diversity and inclusion it's an evolution. Conversation, education, and pushing that need as much as possible can make a big difference," Alex says.
